Piraeus asks shareholders to come up with 20m euros

The management of Piraeus Bank Romania proposed an over 20 million-euro capital increase to the shareholders, by capitalising part of last year’s profit, as well as by a cash contribution. Greek financial group Piraeus Bank holds 99.99% of the Romanian branch. A decision on the capital increase will be made on July 24. Bank representatives did not wish to comment on this information. The capital increase will be performed by adding 8.86 million RON (equivalent to a little over 2 million euros) of last year’s profit to the share capital. In 2008 the bank reported a 43 million-euro gross profit (in line with Romanian accounting standards), up 96% against the previous year. The shareholders are also called to contribute a maximum of 18 million euros (the equivalent sum in RON on the date when the sum is paid) in cash. According to data valid at the end of last year, Piraeus Bank had a 270 million-euro share capital, making it the third largest bank in the system according to this criterion.